The band was given a standing ovation before they hit the stage.
Once the five musicians from San Diego appeared, a rousing guitar riff emanated from the Fender Telecaster played by guitarist Andrew Shirley. The crowd was instantly prompted to sing the “oh’s” in “Needle and Haystack Life,” the perfect opening song to the Switchfoot concert at the Arena Theater, Feb. 17.
Rock show kick-off
Lead singer Jon Foreman’s voice filled the theater along with Chad Butler’s dynamic drums, Tim Foreman’s vigorous bass and Jerome Fontamillas’ lively keyboard, bringing the song to full force. The first song of the set defined the tone for the rest of the evening, with lines like, “It’s no accident we’re here tonight, we are once in a lifetime.”
Next came “Mess of Me,” one of the most intense rock songs of the night. Highlighted by Jon and Tim Foreman climbing on speakers and trunks and jumping off at almost choreographed instances, the already hyped up audience became even more energized.
Typical of Switchfoot’s stage presence, their energy consistently electrifies their live performances.
Jon greeted the audience, claiming it was great to be back so soon. Three months ago, Switchfoot played at Warehouse Live during round one of their “Hello Hurricane” tour.
For round two, the band broke away from their previous set, in which every song on “Hurricane” was played in order, followed by classic crowd pleasers, such as “Meant To Live.” This time they mixed in quintessential tracks like “Stars” from the album “Nothing is Sound,” during which Shirley played the first few lines of “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” further proof of Switchfoot’s enormous audience appeal and devotion to tailoring each show to the fans.
Storytellers
An intimate setting for a musical blowout, the venue, only 1.1 miles from the University, was great for Switchfoot’s goal of community. Arena’s rotating stage was the subject of a few jokes slipped in by Jon, like “Do you ever feel like you’re going in circles?”
He consistently spoke to the audience like one would speak to a friend, adding to the personal feeling of the show and the notion that these surfer-musicians never take themselves too seriously.
Following “Oh! Gravity,” an upbeat rock song from their sixth album, Jon led the band into the ballad “Your Love is a Song,” a final song in the trio of those written by Jon about God’s love, including “Let Your Love Be Strong” and “Your Love is Strong,” evidence the band does take its music very seriously.
“I write about things I don’t understand,” Jon said. “This is one of those songs — it’s about grace.”
Jon seamlessly transferred from the softer ballad to the much harder, angst-driven “The Sound (John M. Perkins Blues),” from “Hurricane,” which he dedicated to the civil rights activist who inspired the song.
“His story is one I want to repeat night after night, how love is the loudest song we’ll ever sing,” he said.
One of the most inspiring songs of the night was “Always,” in which Jon put his mother’s hard-earned money to work for all those years she paid for piano lessons.
“I stopped when I realized [Led] Zeppelin didn’t have very many piano ballads,” he said.
“I went home and wrote this song on my parents’ piano, the one I learned to play on. The song is a reminder that everyday is an opportunity for redemption and every breath is a second chance.”
Not ‘Yet’ seen
Butler traded his drumsticks for mallets and lined up on one edge of the stage with Fontamillas sporting an accordion and Jon a harmonica. In a rare occurrence, the song “Yet” provided the opportunity for all members of the band to not only show their range of musical ability, but for the crowd to see them all up close.
The audience was captivated by the soulful ballad, then expertly pulled back into the show when Jon held his microphone toward the audience, motioning them to echo the line, “If it doesn’t break.”
Again with seamless transition, Jon continued playing an impromptu melody on the harmonica while the band resumed their previous positions on stage.
In a brilliant suggestion, the audience was asked to break out their “bright shiny things,” referring to the cell phones they had been waving around throughout the evening, for the song “On Fire,” from “The Beautiful Letdown.” The result was gorgeous, with lights twinkling in the dimly lit crowd that seemed to spur the passion of the song in the voices and instruments of the band.
Later, Jon pointed out that Johnny Cash had played on the Arena stage. He was excited, but serious, in explaining that Cash’s story reminds him there is always a way out, a choice between hope and despair. Since the band was playing mellow background music, the audience expected another ballad but was more than pleasantly surprised to hear the first few chords of “Meant to Live.”
The performance of this song was the most energetic display of the evening, with the best light show and more purposeful movements. It was as though the band was feeding off the excitement of the audience, who had gotten their second wind from hearing a favorite of fans and normally passive listeners alike, and sang the entire next-to-last chorus.
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